DIRTY SECRET

06.27.11

N. Korea Hides Evidence of Famine

Still from a video shot by a North Korean journalist who smuggled the footage to China.

A video shot several months ago by a North Korean journalist has revealed shocking footage indicating that the country may be on the brink of a famine. The film shows homeless children begging for food on the streets, with one young boy telling the reporter that his parents "left me" and "I sleep outdoors." He is one of many orphans whose parents reportedly died of starvation or were forced into labor camps. The video also shows an Army official demanding donations from a rice seller for his malnourished soldiers. The journalist, who smuggled his video into China, now faces the death penalty. In the late 1990s, a famine gripped the country and killed 2 million people.